Device for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible material in sheet form

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible material in sheet form, more especially of pieces of fabric or plastic material in sheets intended for the manufacture of clothing. The device comprises at least two movable displacement members which are adapted to press against a maintaining member, a portion of a piece that is to be displaced, and which are mounted upon a support so as to be able to describe distinct trajectories, as well as control means adapted to cause each of said movable displacement members to pass from an inactive position where it is remote from said maintaining member to a rear initial position for which it presses the corresponding piece portion against the maintaining member, then, while it is kept in engagement with the said piece portion, to cause it to move forward by carrying this latter along as far as a front arrival position, and finally to move it away from the maintaining member while bringing it back again to its inactive position.

United States Patent Guichard [75] Inventor: Jean Guichard, Yerres, France [73] Assignee: Centre DEtude Techniques Des-Industries De LHabillement, Paris, France [22] Filed: Dec. 7, I970 [211 App]. No.: 95,461

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 8, 1969 France ..6942305 '52 'u.s. Cl ..27 1/s4, 271/84 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65h 5/16 [58] Field of Search ..27l/54, 84, 60, 55

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,635,875 4/1953 Werner ..27|/s4 763,405 6/1904 Kemper et al. ....27l/55 X 3,376,036 4/1968 Weir ..27l/54 Jan. 23, 1973 Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Bruce H. Stoner, Jr.

Attorney-Richards & Geier [57} ABSTRACT The invention relates to a device for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible material in sheet form, more especially of pieces of fabric or plastic material in sheets intended for the manufacture of clothing.

The device comprises at least two movable displacement members which are adapted to press against a maintaining member, a portion of a piece that is to be displaced, and which are mounted upon a support so as to be able to describe distinct trajectories, as well as control means adapted to cause each of said movable displacement members to pass from an inactive position where it is remote from said maintaining member to a rear initial position for which it presses the corresponding piece portion against the maintaining member, then, while it is kept in engagement with the said piece portion, to cause it to move forward by carrying this latter along as far as a front arrival position, and finally to move it away from the maintaining member while bringing it back again to its inactive position.

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J. Guicharcl muwmgw ATTORN E85 V DEVICE FOR THE DISPLACEMENT AND ALIGNMENT OF PIECES OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL IN SHEET FORM The present invention has as its object a device intended to ensure the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible material in sheet form with or without modification of the profile of the edges of the said pieces during their displacement, applicable more especially, but not exclusively, to pieces of fabric intended for the manufacture of clothing. The device is also applicable for example to pieces of flexible plastic in sheets.

In spite of the recent progress of automation in the clothing industries, the fact still is that, on the majority of the automatic units or machines, the pieces on which operations will be carried out are put in place manually. The invention aims at reducing the manual participation by automating the displacements of the pieces and, if it is necessary, the shaping of at least one of the edges of the said pieces according to a'determined profile, rectilinear. or'curved, simultaneously with their placing in a determined position, and this both on a flatsurface and on a sunken or convex surface.

To this end, the device for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible material in sheet form in accordance with the invention is characterized in that it comprises at least two movable displacement members which are adapted to press, against a maintaining member, a portion of a piece that is to be displaced, and which are mounted on a'support so as to be able to describe distinct trajectories, as well as drive adapted to cause eachof the said movable displacement members to pass from an inactive position where it is remote from the maintaining member, to a rear initial position for which it.presses"the corresponding piece portion against the maintaining member, then, whilst it is kept engaging the said piece portion, to cause it to move forward by carrying this latter along as far as a front arrival position, and finally to move it away from the maintaining member while bringing it back again to its inactive position. Y

Such a device, defined in a general way as has just been said, can constitute in itself a preparation device for pieces, but it can equally constitute a part appended to or integrated into an automatic unit and thus form a sub-assembly of this unit.

' In a general manner, such a device finds its applica- FIG. 3shows a variant of the arrangement of the fingers for displacement of the piece;

FIG. 4 is a profile view of another embodiment FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of a variant of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 and FIG. 6 is a section taken along the line VIVI of FIG. 5.

The device represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 is intended to ensure the displacement and alignment of flexible pieces of material in sheet form, more especially of pieces of fabric or plastic material in sheets, intended for the manufacture of clothing.

It comprises essentially a frame 1, a set of movable displacement members 2 and a control mechanism 3 of the said movable members. This device is c rried, for example, on a table f which the slippery surface, which constitutes a support member, receives pieces, such as 5, which are to be displaced and aligned as far as the position indicated at 5A.

The frame 1 is formed of two parallel angle-irons 11, I2, fixed on two opposed sides of a parallelepipedic support block 13.

In the support 13 therecan slide, parallel to the general direction of the frame I, a certain number of tubes 14 which form part of the displacement members 2. The number of these tubes is seven in the drawing, purely by way of indication, but it is obvious that it can be any number whatever and is a function of the dimensions of the pieces to be displaced and of the possible modifications of the profile of their edges that one be led to impart to them. i

In one of the ends, which will be called hereinafter the front end, of each of the tubes 14 there is fitted a piece of piano wire 17 which constitutes a gripping finger, the front end of which is bent downwards so, as

tionin operations for "positioning pieces in a IN THESE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 represents,, in perspective, the whole of a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same device;

to be able to bear on a piece of fabric 5 resting on the table 4. 1

The rear end of each tube 14 is provided with a small vertical abutment lug l8 intended to come into contact with the profiled edge 21 of a template 22, under the action of elastic means constituted, in this example, by a helical compression spring 23, one end of which rests against the rear edge of the support block 13 and the other endagainst the lug 18.

The template 22 is an interchangeable template mounted in a removable manner. between the rear ends of the upper horizontal flanges of the two angle-irons l1 and 12 of the frame'and two horizontal small plates 26 welded against the inner faces of the said angleirons, at a suitable distance underneath the horizontal flanges of these latter. The template is immobilized by means of two shouldered pins 27 which pass through corresponding holes let in the rear ends of the angleirons l l and 12 of the frame, in the end of the said template and in the sinall plates 26.

The movable fingers 17 can be displaced from their rear initial position represented in solid lines in FIG. 1 to their front arrival position represented at 17A in broken lines, by means of a control system which comprises essentially a slider 30, two arms 31, 32 secured to a transverse horizontal shaft 33 which pivots on the tops of two uprights 34, 35 and a crank 36 which serves to cause the said arms to oscillate and which is caused to rotate by any suitable means such as small electric motor 37 with reducing gear.

The slider 30 runs between the two angle-irons 11 and 12 of the frame on two slides, such as 38, fixed against the inner faces of the vertical flanges of the said angle-irons. The reduced lower ends of the two arms 31, 32 are engaged, respectively, in two openings 41, 42 in the rear part of the slide 30. The crank-pin 43 of the crank disc 36 is engaged in a longitudinal slot 44 of the arm 31. Preferably, the slider 30 is also interchangeable and its front edge also forms a template of any desired profile.

When the slider 30 moves forward its front edge encounters lugs 46 fixed under the front parts of the tubes 14, so as to carry these latter with it.

Finally, there are provided means for raising the fingers 17 above the piece of fabric A during their retiring movement. In the example shown, these means are constituted by a transverse bar 51, the two cranked ends of which pivot in the front ends of the two angleirons 11 and 12 of the frame this bar is urged elastically to rotate in the direction of the arrow f2 by a helical torsion spring 52 wound on one of the cranked ends of the said bar, one-of the ends of this spring being secured to the bar and the other to the angle-iron 12. The bar 51 can be made to pivot in the direction opposed to that of the arrow f2, against the force of the spring 52, by means of a drive system which comprises a crank 54 secured to the said bar, a cable 55 of which the one end is attached to the end of the crank 54 and the other end to the end of one of the arms of a twoarmed lever 56 which pivots on the upright 34 on an axis 57, the upper edge of the other arm of this lever being urged elastically against the lower face of the crank-pin 43 by the action of the spring 52. The cable 55 passes over an idler-pulley 58 mounted at the base of the upright 34.

The operation of the whole of the device is as follows At the outset, the movable fingers 17 are in their rear position, substantially as represented in solid lines, but their bent ends being slightly raised above a piece of fabric 5 which has just been introduced and which has to be displaced and aligned as far as the position 5A. In the particular case represented, the front edge 61 of the piece 5 forms an obtuse angle and it has to be finally brought to 61A in accordance with a substantially rectilinear general configuration, but slightly crumpled as shown. The bent-over ends of the displacement fingers 17, are therefore, at the outset, in positions which follow the profile 61 of the piece of fabric. To this end, the profile of the front edge 21 of the template 22 is identical with the profile of the piece of fabric 61, so that, when the sliding tubes 14 are urged towards the rear, by their return springs 23, against the profile 21 of the interchangeable template 22, the bent-over ends of the fingers 17 are suitably aligned along the front edge 61 of the piece 5 that is to be displaced.

By a manual or automatic drive, the crank 36 is set going for one revolution, in the direction of the arrow fl so that it first releases the lever 56 so that the cable 55 is slackened and allows the spring 52 to cause the bar 51 to pivot in the direction which allows the bentover ends of the movable fingers 17 to come to rest on the piece 5 that is to be displaced. The rotation of the crank 36 also causes the two arms 31, 32 to oscillate, which, in their turn, push the slide 30 to the front.

As the slide moves forward, its front end, which constitutes another template, encounters in succession the lugs 46 of the fingers 17, firstly those of the fingers which are most distant, that is to say in the example those which are situated near the angle-irons 11 and 12, then afterwards the lugs of the fingers which are situated nearer to the middle of the device. When the lugs 46 of all the fingers have been caught by the slide 30, the bent-over ends of the said fingers are then aligned in accordance with a transverse straight line and they continue to advance as far as the position represented at 17A. The longitudinal relative displacement of the fingers has therefore brought about, during this displacement of the piece of fabric 61, a deformation of the edge 61 of this piece which has passed from the pointed configuration to the desired crumpled rectilinear configuration. When the piece SA has arrived at its advanced position, it is taken over, either by hand or by any appropriate device which preserves for it the configuration which has just been given to it, the crank 36 has made a half-turn and the crank-pin 43 causes the corresponding am of the lever 56 to pivot downwards, which brings about a raising of the other arm of the said lever and, consequently, a traction on the cable 55 which brings about a pivoting movement of the bar 51 and, consequently, a displacement of the fingers 17 upwards, so that their bent-over ends are raised from the piece 5A. The crank continues for a half-turn and brings about, consequently, the return of the slide 30 to its initial rear position, whilst the fingers 17 are kept slightly raised above the surface of the table 4. At the end of its second half-turn, the crank again holds back the two-armed lever 56 so that the cable 55 is kept taut and the bent-over ends of the displacement fingers 17 are still slightly above the surface of the table. The following cycle will be able to commence as soon as a new piece of fabric is placed on the table 4 either by hand or automatically.

The spacing of the fingers 17 is determined as a function of the nature and shape of the pieces as well as the marginal deformations that they have to undergo.

An equivalent effect would be obtained if, instead of a template 22 having an edge 21 in the form of a point and a transverse rectilinear front edge of the slider 30, on the contrary one were to give a transverse rectilinear profile to the edge of the template 22 and a sunk angular profile to the front edge of the slider 30.

In the embodiment represented in FIG. 1, the displacement fingers 17 have been arranged in parallel directions, but they could be placed fanwise, as represented diagrammatically by way of variant in FIG. 3, so as to produce a transverse stretching of the piece of fabric 5, at the same time that it is made to advance. Such an arrangement could be used, for example, for the working of pieces made of elastic material which have to be sewn in the extended state.

Thus, the template 22 could, for example, not be interchangeable. Moreover, if its edge 21, instead of being pointed, were rectilinear and perpendicular to the general direction of the fingers 17, all the fingers would be displaced at the same time and by the same quantity, so that the piece would simply be displaced without deformation of the configuration of its front edge. The template could again have quite a different profile, for example a curved profile that depends on the work to be effected.

The table 4 has been represented flat, but it could be hollow, convex, partly of cylindrical surface, in the shape of a surface, etc.

The displacement fingers of the pieces could have quite a different configuration and be provided, for example, with shoes adapted to press against the piece or even be connected by flexible elastic membranes so as to form kinds of webbed fingers in order to realize other conditions of entrainment of the pieces.

In a more general manner, the movable members for displacing the pieces could be realized otherwise'than in the form of fingers, for example in the form of a movable cross-bar. The drive means for driving the movable displacement members could be quite different from those represented.

The raising of the fingers could also be achieved otherwise than by an elastic deformation of the said fingers and, for example, by a pivoting movement of the support block 13 on the frame 1, or even by a pivoting movement of the whole assembly of the device around a transverse horizontal axis.

lnFlG. 4, a variant has been represented which is differentiated from the embodiment of H08. 1 and 2 essentially by the fact that the maintaining member, instead of being constituted by the slippery surface of a table, is formed by a set of fingers such as 17B arranged symmetrically to the displacement fingers 17, in relation to the surface of the pieces that is to be displaced. it is also differentiated therefrom by'the fact that, by way of example, the fingers 17 no longer work by thrust, .in order to cause the piece 5 to move forward, but by traction in the direction of the arrow f in FIG; 4.

' The whole part of the device. represented by the upper half of FlG. 4 is, in other respects, similar to the representation of FIG. 2 and the same reference numerals have been retained to indicate the corresponding members, whereas" the symmetrical part of the device, represented in the lower half of FIG. 4, comprises corresponding members designated by the same reference numerals, but bearing the index B.

The drive systems for the fingers 173 which serve as support members are, of course, perfectly synchronized with respect to the drive members for the displacement fingers 17. The fingers 17 and the fingers 17B therefore constitute tongs capable of seizing th'e piece 5 and causing it to advance in conditions which are substantially the same as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and' 2.

Finally, represented in FIGS. 5 and 6 is another variant which differs essentially from the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 in that the tubes 14 of the displacement members 2 equipped with fingers 17, instead of sliding directly in thesupport block 13, are mounted for sliding motion in guides 71 which are able to pivot on the support block13C. To'this end, each of the guides 71 is provided with a stud'72 perpendicular to the direction of the said guide andmounted for pivoting motion in a bore,73 of the support block 13C, perpendicular to the base of this latter. Each of the guides 71 is urged to pivot in the direction of the arrow f by a helical spring made of piano wire coaxial with the pivot 72 and one end of which is hooked onto the guide 71 and the other end to the support block 13C. 'The rear positioning template is again designated by 22, it is fixed in a removable manner on the support block 13C and it engages the displacement members 2 under to the action of their return springs 23, through the medium of lugs such as 18.

The advancing template is again constituted by the front edge of the slider 30C, it is also, preferably, interchangeable, and it ensures the moving forward of the fingers 2 through the medium of the lugs 46 integral with the said fingers.

The profile of this template varies with the amplitude of the sliding movements that one wishes to impart to the advancing finger 13, that is, for example, that for two of the said fingers the template 30C has two recesses 76, 77 in the form of cams, the inclined part of which serves to bring about a pivoting movement of the corresponding guides 71, so that the fingers which slide in these guides assume the inclinations indicated at 17D and 17B in FIG. 5.

The means for driving the slider 30C have not been represented, nor these for raising the advancing fingers 17, which are of the same type as those of the embodiment of FIGS. land 2.

It can easily be understood that, by suitable configuration of the recesses such as 76 and 77'forming cams, any law of individual advancement of the fingers 17, and of pivoting of these latter and of their guide 71 can be achieved, so that the said fingers, while the moving forward, can move apart or draw together by any desired amount.

it is possible not to cause the guides 71 to pivot when one needs the fingers to shift merely in their own direction, it suffices for this that the recesses such as 76 and 77 be formed by simple notches parallel with the axis of the corresponding fingers.

"Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and represented which have been given by way of examples modifications can be made thereto, in accordance with the applications contemplated, without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A device-for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible sheets, particularly sheets of fabrics and plastic materials intended for the manufacture of clothing, said device comprising a maintaining member, a plurality of movable displacement members adapted to press a portion of the piece to be displaced against said maintaining member, support means carrying said movable displacement members and control means adapted to move said displacement members while modifying their relative positions to engage-and move a portion of the piece to be displaced, said control means having means withdrawing said displacement'mer nbers'from engagement with the portion of the piece to be'displaced.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the maintaining member has a continuous maintaining surface;

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the maintaining member is a mobile carriage.

4. A device according to claim 1,,whereinthe maintaining member is a movable member adapted to describe the same trajectory as said displacement member.

5. A device for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible sheets, particularly sheets of fabrics and plastic materials intended for the manufacture of clothing, said device comprising a maintaining member, a plurality of movable fingers, guides carrying said fingers, said fingers being slidable in said guides and being adapted to press a portion of the piece to be displaced against said maintaining member, and control means adapted to move said fingers individually in different paths of travel to engage and move a portion of the piece to be displaced, said control means having means withdrawing said fingers from engagement with the portion of the piece to be displaced.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the ends of the fingers describe parallel trajectories.

7. A device according to claim 5, wherein the ends of the fingers describe divergent trajectories.

8. A device according to claim 5, further comprising a fixed transverse template carried by said support means and serving as an abutment for said fingers in their rear initial position, resilient restoring means for urging said fingers towards said fixed transverse template, said control means being constituted by a mobile transverse template capable of repelling said fingers towards their front arrival position against the action of said resilient restoring means.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the two transverse templates are of different profiles.

10. A device according to claim 5, wherein the fingers comprise flexible portions which can be moved away from the maintaining member by flexure, said device further comprising a mobile cross member adapted to engage said flexible portions to flex them away from said maintaining member.

11. A device according to claim 5, wherein each guide in which there slides a finger is free to swivel on said support means on an axis which is perpendicular to the direction of the said guide.

12. A device according to claim 11, wherein each swivelling guide is subject to the action of a cam carried by said mobile transverse template.

13. A device according to claim 5, wherein at least the guides for the fingers are mounted for simultaneous tilting about a common transverse axis. 

1. A device for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible sheets, particularly sheets of fabrics and plastic materials intended for the manufacture of clothing, said device comprising a maintaining member, a plurality of movable displacement members adapted to press a portion of the piece to be displaced against said maintaining member, support means carrying said movable displacement members and control means adapted to move said displacement members while modifying their relative positions to engage and move a portion of the piece to be displaced, said control means having means withdrawing said displacement members from engagement with the portion of the piece to be displaced.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the maintaining member has a continuous maintaining surface.
 3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the maintaining member is a mobile carriage.
 4. A device according to claim 1, wherein the maintaining member is a movable member adapted to describe the same trajectory as said displacement member.
 5. A device for the displacement and alignment of pieces of flexible sheets, particularly sheets of fabrics and plastic materials intended for the manufacture of clothing, said device comprising a maintaining member, a plurality of movable fingers, guides carrying said fingers, said fingers being slidable in said guides and being adapted to press a portion of the piece to be displaced against said maintaining member, and control means adapted to move said fingers individually in different paths of travel to engage and move a portion of the piece to be displaced, said control means having means withdrawing said fingers from engagement with the portion of the piece to be displaced.
 6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the ends of the fingers describe parallel trajectories.
 7. A device according to claim 5, wherein the ends of the fingers describe divergent trajectories.
 8. A device according to claim 5, further comprising a fixed transverse template carried by said support means and serving as an abutment for said fingers in their rear initial position, resilient restoring means for urging said fingers towards said fixed transverse template, said control means being constituted by a mobile transverse template capable of repelling said fingers towards their front arrival position against the action of said resilient restoring means.
 9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the two transverse templates are of different profiles.
 10. A device according to claim 5, wherein the fingers comprise flexible portions which can be moved away from the maintaining member by flexure, said device further comprising a mobile cross member adapted to engage said flexible portions to flex them away from said maintaining member.
 11. A device according to claim 5, wherein each guide in which there slides a finger is free to swivel on said support means on an axis which is perpendicular to the direction of the said guide.
 12. A device according to claim 11, wherein each swivelling guide is subject to the action of a cam carried by said mobile transverse template.
 13. A device according to claim 5, wherein at least the guides for the fingers are mounted for simultaneous tilting about a common transverse axis. 